Posts Tagged ‘hunger games’

We’ve finally got new footage for Catching Fire, based on the second book in the hit series The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins! Check it out below. Is it everything you hoped for? Do you think they’ll do justice to the book? Sound off in the comments!

Although… I’m not feeling as shocked and surprised as I expected to upon hearing the news. Bieber totally has the swagger, the charm, and the energy to handle Finnick’s character. The only possible downside will be if Bieber is unable to downplay his babyface to play a 24-year veteran Victor who has experienced 10 years of Capitol manipulation. Although, the Hunger Games casting agents have not been that concerned with actors’ ages in earlier casting, and all that truly matters is that Finnick appears older and more seasoned than Katniss.

Here is the rest of the big Catching Fire casting announcements from yesterday:

The wonderful Mags will by played by the wonderful Julie Andrews.

Brainy Beetee will be played by Brainy Adam Savage from Mythbusters.

And infamous Wiress will be played by the infamous Snooki (not too shabby for a girl’s first big movie role).

But the most surprising of all:

The clever and vicious Johanna Mason will be played by Saturday Night Lives’s feisty Target Lady!

Kinda weird, right? I was totally rooting for Selena Gomez or Kristin Bell…

Other books in series or Standalone: First in a trilogy. Look for the second book, tentatively titled Insurgent, in spring/summer 2012.

First Impressions: I had almost grown tired of dystopian novels since every author out there is trying to replicate the wild success of The Hunger Games, but the premise of this novel (not to mention the stellar reviews) piqued my interest. It’s set in a futuristic Chicago where all citizens are split into different factions based on what they value: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, and Amity. When kids turn 16, they can choose to stay with the faction they were born into, or they can switch. Beatrice was born into Abnegation, who value selflessness. But when her test marks her as a Divergent who doesn’t truly belong to any one faction, she chooses to switch to Dauntless, where courage is valued above all else. There she must learn to function in a group that is totally different than what she is used to and discover what it truly means to be fearless.

Last Impressions: Of all the dystopian YA books that have come out in the wake of The Hunger Games, my favorite is definitely Divergent. This is probably due to the fact that Beatrice (who goes by Tris once she becomes Dauntless) is a really cool, tough girl who is more like Katniss than any of the lovestruck girls in the other dystopian tales I’ve read lately. In choosing Dauntless as her faction, and going through with all the trials involved in becoming Dauntless, Tris proves that she’s worthy of being called brave and self-sufficient. There’s also a love story, but likeThe Hunger Games, it’s not the main focus. It’s much more action-based, and figuring out who you are is the core of the story. Divergent was an exciting and interesting read, and I’d definitely recommend it!

Favorite Moment (POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT): Tris gliding along a wire off of a 100-story building on a Dauntless adventure. I’m scared of everything and could therefore never be Dauntless, but this sounded so cool!

Thoughts on the bookcover: I know you’re “not supposed to judge a book by the cover”, but the cover is one of the reasons I picked up the book. The big fiery symbol is a great depiction of what Dauntless is all about, and it’s always nice to see the Chicago skyline.

People who should read this: If you liked The Hunger Games, I’m pretty confident that you’ll like this! It’s really got a little something for everyone. There’s lots of action, a new world to imagine, a love story, and more.

FINALLY! Ever since Jennifer Lawrence was cast as Katniss for the Hunger Games movie, we here at DPL have been obsessively watching for announcements on who will play Peeta, and we finally got that announcement last night!

Peeta Mellark will be played by….

Paul Reubens as Pee-Wee Herman!

I know, I was shocked at first, too…but then I started to think about it and there are so many reasons for why Pee-Wee Herman (as played by Paul Reubens) would be an AWESOME Peeta:

1. Many of us are very worried that 20-year-old Jennifer Lawrence will not be able to pull off a believable 16-year-old girl, so what is the best way to make her look younger? Use older actors for the supporting cast! But oh no–won’t that make those characters look too old? This is why Pee-Wee Herman is PERFECT! He is totally ageless!

2. Pee-Wee Herman will do anything for the loves of his life, just like Peeta. He even went all the way to the basement of the Alamo to find his bike!

3. Under pressure, Pee-Wee can think quick on his feet and easily gain the trust of his adversaries. Mostly through dancing.

I know some of you are probably in total panic because you haven’t had a chance to read Catching Fire, the second in the Hunger Games Trilogy. There are still A LOT of holds on it, so to hold you over until your turn comes, Scholastic has posted this awesome little widget that will let you read the first chapter of the book!

Now that National Library Week has arrived we thought it might be fun to celebrate by going back to basics library-style. It’s no secret that public libraries these days offer all sorts of valuable resources—from books to video games, DVDs to audio books, internet services, and even coffee shop goodies. But this week it’s all about the books. Good books. Great books to be exact. And all this week we’ll be featuring mini-reviews of some of our favorite reads for Young Adults. And by “mini-review” we mean 5 sentences or less. Okay? Okay. Here we go…